Espalier Athena by Douglas Bentham
Douglas Bentham
Espalier Athena, 2007
burnished stainless steel
160” x 36” x 38”
Provenance:
13th Street Winery Permanent Collection since 2018
Literature:
Espalier is a horticultural term for a tree or shrub trained to grow flat against a surface. This stainless, steel sculpture is made up of configurations of overlapping and abutting planes. The title is drawn from a Greek mythological figure, it emphasizes the inspiration people have drawn from the human form and nature.
“Espalier Athena” is part of the Espaliers series, an ongoing series of life-scale sculptures in stainless steel which are active studies in demonstrating the potential for abstract figure-oriented artworks to serve a prominent role in visually enhancing public settings. This potential has been achieved through a process in which strategic works from the series are physically scaled-up in a proportion of 1:2, resulting in works with a monumental, yet physically approachable scale.
About The Artist:
Douglas Bentham was born in Rosetown, Saskatchewan, in 1947. He lives and works in a rural setting near Saskatoon, SK. Bentham graduated with a BA Advanced degree in painting from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. He received an MFA in sculpture from that institution in 1989.
